Football Hurry Up Offense

Hurry Up Offense

Hurry up offense in football is an offensive strategy or tactic where the offense skips the huddle in an effort to give the defense little resting time between downs. The hurry up offense can be used at any point in the game, but is widely used at the end when time is ticking down. When executed near the end of the game clock the hurry up offense is referred to as the two minute offense.

The hurry up offense's success is based largely on how well the quarterback can run the offense. They take advantage of audibles (changing the play at the line of scrimmage based on how the defense looks) to avoid huddling and letting the defense get set.

End Of Game

A hurry up offense at the end of the game is slightly different than in the middle of one. The purpose is less so to catch the defense off guard but for the offense to fit in as many plays as possible into a small window of time. To accomplish that it is important to consider the following clock management factors: spiking the ball, timeouts, sidelines, and play calling.

Spiking the ball becomes a useful tool for stopping the clock. It involves the team rushing to the line of scrimmage, snapping the ball and having the quarterback quickly throw it straight down. The maneuver stops the clock from continuing to tick down.

Timeouts and the sidelines are two other useful ways to control the time remaining at the end of a game. Sidelines are the target of each play in a two minute offense. If a player is able to cross a sideline and go out of bounds the game clock stops moving. In a football game there are three timeouts per team per half and they are mainly utilized at the end of a game by teams if a player fails to get to a sideline and is tackled in bounds.

Play calling has a major role in the success of a hurry up offense. It is critical for teams to be able to decide on a play and then communicate it to everyone on the offense as quickly as possible. On top of that each play must be designed to travel what could be the length of the field in a small amount of time. That being said plays have to either be deep or to the sideline, limiting the choices of the offense.